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Anyone used chains yet?

Anyone used chains yet?

Submitted by gary.greene on December 29, 2012

I see the post on Model S performance in snow/ice but am curious if anyone has used chains on the car to date? I live in southern CA and the Highway Patrol requires chains on non 4WD or AWD vehicles at times when heading to Big Bear for skiing (same is true for Tahoe or Mammoth). Don't imagine they will allow a Model S to travel the roads without chains in the middle of a snowstorm. Thoughts?

b.lafuente |
December 29, 2012

I drive to Tahoe constantly and I wouldn't imagine the highway patrol would allow a 2WD car w/o chains during times of chain control.

I was in Tahoe just last week and was actually happy to NOT have driven my Tesla S and would have been afraid to put chains on it that may have caused undue wear and tear. Tesla X on the other hand ...

Ceilidh |
December 29, 2012

They certainly will not allow the model s to travel without chains under chain controls, and snow socks are not approved as a chain alternative in CA. So if you want to use your S with chain controls, you will at minimum need a pair of chains for the rear axle.

Note that the chains were supposed to fit the front axle as well, but appear not to (see the club forum posts about this--with photos). This means that you can put the z chains on the back, or possibly larger chains (although this is not confirmed yet--the z chains are confirmed to fit fine). For the front, you could leave them chainless, put on snow socks/snow donuts, or get fancy no clearance chains such as spikes-spiders or the Thule K Summits.

Hope that helps.

Cheers.

Doug |
December 29, 2012

I purchased the 19 rims and snow tires from the Menlo Park Tesla Facility. I used chains last Friday when there was chain control on interstate 80. I had to put on chains or more specifically the cables on near Colfax. No problem as they fit perfectly on the 19" rims and tires and did not hit the the fender or or any parts of the body of the Model S. Car handled very well with the cables and 19" wheels.
Looking forward to having a high power charger on interstate 80 somewhere from Auburn East to Donner Summit.
I had to detour and charge in Folsom. Great charging station in Folsom but a detour of 34 miles or so from interstate 80.
Love the Model S and its performance in the Mountains.

Stu Hood |
March 2, 2013

Resurrecting this thread: the tires on the 21" wheels are a tough fit, but I've found a pair of chains that work.

They are 245/35/21, which would ostensibly require a chain like the QV343 from Quality Chain Corp. BUT, there is very little clearance _behind_ the tire, and I wasn't able to get the chains to fasten and ended up returning them.

To avoid having to muddle about behind the tire, I ended up getting a pair of Thule K-Summit [0] chains. After a lot of adjustment (they have removable links to fit larger tires), I finally got them fitted and they appear to be ready to go. I haven't made a trip on them yet so it's too early to endorse them, but at least they fit!